Baby Pictures

Ok. this blog isn't about Maria... it is about taking baby pictures. A few years ago my mom and i were in B&N and we found this cute little book called "naked babies". i think it is absolutely darling. pictures of naked babies and all their little parts. eyes, ears, hands, feet, bums, etc. (i know this is a bad picture.... long story of why, but i'm sorry, we'll try for better pictures next time)

For Christmas this year I got the book "How to Photograph your Baby" by the same autor (nick kelsh) as naked babies. He goes through basically step by step of how to take great pictures of your baby. I think that this is a GREAT little book. It gives lots of how to advice without going into all the technical camera-speak. And all you need is your a point-and-shoot to do it.

So in the end... if you are looking to learn more about taking pictures of your baby, i would definitely recommend this book.

Fingers.... and now toes.

before I could finish getting her diaper strapped on...

she had her foot in her mouth. something new!

Maria's Bear Hug Onsie

This one's for you Nana & Ranpa Toyk!!

Cornwall Park

Yesterday Maria, Marco and I took off for a walk in the park. It's been years since I've been to Cornwall, and I don't think that even then I explored the whole park. We didn't do the whole park yesterday, but we did do quite a bit. It's quite a big park... I think we will be going back many more times. Maria fell asleep in the car on the way, and slept over half of our walk around the park, but woke up in time to go on the swings before we left. It was so exciting. Her first time in the big-ish girl swing!! I played around a little in Photoshop with these pictures... I think we'll have to order some prints!!

Happy Birthday...

... to one of the cutest little girls ever!! Happy First Birthday Lily!!! We miss you!! Hope to see you sooner, rather than later.

Book Tag

My friend Cat did this tag the other day and I had a free moment so I thought I'd do it too...

Here are the rules:

1. Grab the nearest book.

2. Open to page 56.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the text of the next 2 to 5 sentences, along with these rules.

5. Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual book. Pick the CLOSEST!

6. Tag five (or more) other people to do the same


My book is:

".... I come to a stop against a brass rail and straighten up, looking back at Earl in shock. Then I see the rest of them.
"What is this?" says Uncle Al from the depths of a winged chair. He is seated at a table with three other men, twaddling a fat cigar between the ginger and thumb of one hand and holding five fanned cards in the other. ...."


I tag: Lydia, Kristen Butler, Courtney, Mel, & Tif.

and the fog is back

seriously.... i'm starting to lean towards the aliens.

Inauguration Morning

This has nothing to do with the Inauguration.... but the sunrise was beautiful this morning.... so I had to go out and take some pictures...

This one is shot towards Mt. Baker...

and this one is towards the Canadian mountains... (Notice the fog. Yeah. at the moment i took these pictures the fog was down low.... but that didn't last long... soon enough it was back up above our level, and this stuff is THICK. It's like driving into a wall. Right now it's receded from here a little, but it's still down in the valley. I feel REALLY bad for the people who live down there.... for a while (because it stayed foggy for so long) i thought that maybe the aliens were doing something and they didn't want us to see. it may be true, but probably not... just funky weather.)

When I was out taking the pictures i took this one of the grass all frozen and crispy with ice.... it reminded me of how the grass might just be in "charlie and the chocolate factory".

fog

it's lifted. i saw clearly for the first time in days. oh how i missed the sun, the sky, and even at times our neighbors house. i dont like the fog.... and i like driving in it even less!!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Toyk

On my Dad's Birthday he didn't want cake, but we did have chocolate Costco muffins..... and we managed to put 37 candles in that little sucker..... just couldn't quite reach 50. Happy 50th Dad.

Space Needle Noodle and Meatball Soup

This is what we had for dinner last night (and leftovers for lunch this afternoon). Marco and I picked up the noodles when we were in Seattle last August.... it took us that long to FINALLY make soup with them. It was nummy too. kind of a hamburger soup with noodles (and celery and onion and carrot and diced tomatoes and seasoning) I just wanted to share how cute the little needle noodles were!!

Once there was a snowman....

On January 1st we got more snow..... and this time it was really good snowman snow. So Marco made is first ever snowman with the help of my mom, and yours truly...

My mom rolled the middle ball...Marco rolled the bottom...

and i took pictures..... I also helped lift the middle ball, it was a little heavy...

trying to get rid of the brown spots...

marco made a head

and then it fell apart...

so he made another head...

this time it stayed together...

smoothing him out and finding his "best side"...

adding the snowman's face...

photo with the final product...

then marco decided to go "hunting for snowman" with his paintball gun...

he accidentally hit the neighbors motor home...

here he is with his "kill"

and then there was the suicidal snowman that we made behind the hummer.... he didn't last that long.